CHS confirms plans to close or sell three southern Minnesota grain elevators after leak
Jun. 1 — KASSON, Minn. — CHS Inc., the Inver Grove Heights-based agricultural cooperative and Fortune 100 company, confirmed Monday it is moving forward with plans to close or sell three grain elevators in southern Minnesota, following an internal memo that leaked late last month.
In a statement, CHS Senior Director of Operations Jim Morken said the cooperative is “optimizing its assets” and that the three facilities — located in Kasson, Ostrander and Wykoff — are no longer competitive in a market dominated by large regional processing plants and river terminals. The elevators will continue to accept grain through the 2026 harvest. If buyers step forward, the sites will close once all stored grain is transferred, likely in early 2027.
“While smaller facilities, such as these three, have served CHS well in the past, the grain supply chain in southern Minnesota has evolved into a market where local corn/soybean processing facilities and river terminals are the primary markets,” Morken wrote in response to questions. “CHS is committed to operating the right resources in the right locations to position our cooperative to deliver the best value for customers and owners.”
The announcement comes as CHS reports deepening financial losses. In its second quarter of fiscal 2026, the cooperative posted a net loss of $147.1 million on revenue of $8.4 billion — a 95% increase from the $75.8 million loss in the same quarter a year earlier. The widening losses have prompted the cooperative to reassess its network of aging inland elevators, industry analysts say.
The Kasson elevator, located at 107 Eighth Ave. SW, has a storage capacity of 3 million bushels and features a high-speed receiving system capable of unloading 40,000 bushels per hour, along with a grain dryer rated at 12,000 bushels per hour. Greenway Co-Op, which CHS acquired in 2015, invested $5.5 million to expand the facility in 2011. The Ostrander and Wykoff elevators together hold about 3.2 million bushels of grain.
Morken did not disclose the number of employees at the three locations or whether workers might be reassigned if the elevators are sold or closed. He noted that CHS continues to operate agronomy and energy services in the region and has made “significant investments” in its larger facilities in Mankato and Fairmont. “We will continue to buy grain from customers for delivery to local processing and river facilities,” he said.
The planned closures underscore a broader trend in the U.S. grain belt, where cooperatives and agribusiness firms are consolidating smaller country elevators in favor of high-throughput terminals near processing plants and export hubs. For farmers in southeastern Minnesota, the loss of local delivery points could mean higher transportation costs and reduced market access — especially for those who rely on the convenience and pricing offered by smaller elevators.
CHS, a farmer-owned cooperative that also manufactures and distributes Cenex fuels, operates hundreds of grain facilities nationwide. The company’s decision to exit these three locations marks one of the most notable retrenchments in the region since the acquisition of Greenway Co-Op nearly a decade ago.